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I have been trying to find a dealer that has the PS2 battery recharger so that I can recharge a battery without the need to have the engine powered in neutral.  So, I get the idea of doing a google search for the product "MTH 50-1019" and found many dealers that were out of stock and then came upon Karkiav.com and they have it in stock!  So, I place the order and paid with my credit card on 10/12.  I receive an invoice in my e-mail showing paid with a credit card.  A few days later I decide to check my credit card transaction online and find that there are no charges from Karkiav but two from entities in China each for a bit more than the product price.

Upon further checking on their website I wasn't able to find a contact address, phone number or e-mail.  I called the credit card company and they shut things down immediately and I won't be charged.  I thought that I was pretty savvy when it comes to this sort of fraud, but in my excitement of finding a product that I really wanted NOW, I made a mistake.  I found another site that offered the product and it had exactly the same language under "about us".  So, I ordered a used one on e-Bay.

Last edited by Tom Jasper
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Thanks for sharing your story.  Sometimes, we get so caught up about a hard-to-find item that we let our defenses down.  It happens.  This is also a reminder why a debit card should never be used for anything other than getting money from an ATM - the additional protections when using a credit card come in handy.  Hope that you've saved others from being burned by this.

There are nice websites for fake hobby shops. Some of the websites are better than those of real hobby shops.

I've ran across this myself. An online hobby store that just-so-happens to have what I can't find at a "legitimate" hobby store.

I've found  that "googling" a fake hobby seller and their reviews, will give indications that its a scam.

This is not unlike the response to a WTB forum ad from an unknown member( thats not even a member) who also just-so-happens to have what your looking for.

I'll never forget Mike Bradys advice for Greg when I was a kid....... "Cavet Emptor"

Episode 4: The Wheeler-Dealer – Here's The Story: Every Episode of The Brady Bunch Reviewed

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Last edited by RickO

It is too easy for Internet bad guys to set up very realistic looking fake businesses so I buy only from Forum sponsors or if I have to from Ebay sellers who have excellent histories.



And along these lines identity theft is a real thing. Several years ago my wife had hers stolen and it was no fun to straighten up that mess. The best guess was that the bad guys got her data during the Home Depot database break-in. Our credit card company caught it because we had just moved and changed billing addresses. Someone "used" our card and gave the old address. The computer flagged that transaction and they called us.

The head of our cyber security at work gave us this advice for the home. All of this applies to your phone and pc.

1) Use a password manager software as GRJ suggested. McAfee and Norton provide this now as part of their package.
2) Use VPN. This way your are hidden online. A Virtual Private Network can be purchased for a couple bucks a month. Then setup via your device or Cyber Security package.
3) Make sure to setup your Cyber Security package on your phone just like you do your pc.
4) Have two networks in your house. One for your Internet of Things devices, Security cameras, Smart Home thermostat, Alexis etc. Then one for any personal devices. The reason for that is IOT devices are widely used and hackers are more used to getting into your network with them.
5) Lock your credit with the big 3 credit bureaus.

Hope that helped!

Last edited by ChiTown Steve

While not directly related to surfing bogus websites, the number of folks who continue to expose their phone number and/or email address in posts continues to astound me.  Put your contact info in your profile, keep it current, and refer people to it.  It's not foolproof (nothing is), but a scammer at least has to create an account in order to see it.

@Mallard4468 posted:

the number of folks who continue to expose their phone number and/or email address in posts continues to astound me.

Are you saying that I, or others that have commented to this post, have exposed their phone number and/or email address?  I scanned the content and didn't see this herein.  Am I missing something.  Oh, and do you recommend not using one's real name?

@Tom Jasper posted:

Are you saying that I, or others that have commented to this post, have exposed their phone number and/or email address?  I scanned the content and didn't see this herein.  Am I missing something.  Oh, and do you recommend not using one's real name?

No, merely replying to this thread doesn't expose the info.  I was referring to posts in other threads, often in the "want to buy" category, where people will say "contact me at my.name@xxx.com" or "call me at nnn-nnn-nnnn".  Such posts are visible by anyone, including scammers who scan sites like this.  And using one's real name anywhere on the internet isn't necessarily a good idea.  We can't stop all of the scammers, but we can do our best to not be a soft target.

Edit:  Shortly after posting this, I looked at the two newest "for sale" posts.  One post included the seller's email (the wrong way), and the other said "see my email in profile" - the right way, since one must be a registered user to see that info.

Last edited by Mallard4468

You hit the nail on the head, Mallard....I've been seeing many Forumites provide their phone numbers; email addresses; office email addresses more and more often. I appreciate your reminder...yet, if these peeps willingly provide this info...the results for them could be terrible. And Allan keeps posting warnings not to add that info to ones' post...

Last edited by redjimmy1955

You hit the nail on the head, Mallard....I've been seeing many Forumites provide their phone numbers; email addresses; office email addresses more and more often. I appreciate your reminder...yet, if these peeps willingly provide this info...the results for them could be terrible. And Allan keeps posting warnings not to add that info to ones' post...

Yeah, Alan has been out in front of this many times, but people don't seem to get it.  For awhile, I would report FS and WTB posts that contained the info, but I gave up.

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